DAY, Nancy 1953-

PERSONAL: Born January 6, 1953, in Newark, NJ; daughter of Robert A. (a writer, editor, and educator) and Betty (a librarian; maiden name, Johnson) Day; married Michael Pohuski (divorced); married Joseph B. Sakaduski (a marketing consultant), August 6, 1982; children: (second marriage) Matthew Philip. Education: University of Maryland—Baltimore County, B.A. (communications), 1976; Loyola College (Baltimore, MA), M.B.A., 1982.

ADDRESSES: Home—136 Woodbine Ave., Northport, NY 11768. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER: Writer and marketing consultant. BBL Microbiology Systems, Cockeysville, MD, advertising manager, 1976-79; M.A. Bioproducts, Walkersville, MD, director of marketing communications, 1979-81; West Company, Phoenixville, PA, business development manager, 1982-83; CooperBiomedical, Malvern, PA, director of marketing communications, 1983-85; freelance marketing consultant, 1985-2000; Sakaduski Marketing Solutions, Northport, NY, president, 2000—.

AWARDS, HONORS: Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Award for Nonfiction, 1995, for article "Mapping the Mind"; Best Social Studies Book of the Year designation, Society of School Librarians International.

WRITINGS:

The Horseshoe Crab, Dillon Press (New York, NY), 1992.

Animal Experimentation: Cruelty or Science? Enslow Publishers (Hillside, NJ), 1994, revised edition, 2000.

Abortion: Debating the Issue, Enslow Publishers (Hillside, NJ), 1995.

Sensational TV: Trash or Journalism? Enslow Publishers (Hillside, NJ), 1996.

Violence in Schools: Learning in Fear, Enslow Publishers (Hillside, NJ), 1996.

Advertising: Information or Manipulation? Enslow Publishers (Hillside, NJ), 1999.

The Death Penalty for Teens: A Pro/Con Issue, Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2000.

Killer Superbugs: The Story of Drug-resistant Diseases, Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2001.

Malaria, West Nile, and Other Mosquito-borne Diseases, Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2001.

Censorship, or Freedom of Expression? Enslow Publishers (Berkeley Heights, NJ), 2001.

Contributor to periodicals, including Odyssey, Cobblestone, and Highlights for Children. Author of business booklets, articles, and other publications.

"passport to history" series

Your Travel Guide to Renaissance Europe, Runestone Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

Your Travel Guide to Colonial America, Runestone Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

Your Travel Guide to Ancient Greece, Runestone Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

Your Travel Guide to Civil War America, Runestone Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

Your Travel Guide to Ancient Maya Civilization, Runestone Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

Your Travel Guide to Ancient Egypt, Runestone Press (Minneapolis, MN), 2001.

ADAPTATIONS: Animal Experimentation: Cruelty or Science? was recorded by American Printing House for the Blind, 1997.

SIDELIGHTS: Nancy Day has written a number of nonfiction titles focusing on topics of current interest, many of which involve individual ethical positions. Addressing the controversy surrounding abortion in Abortion: Debating the Issue, Day tackles the use of the death penalty in cases where juveniles commit particularly brutal crimes in The Death Penalty for Teens: A Pro/Con Issue. Her Animal Experimentation: Cruelty or Science? broaches a topic close to the hearts of animal welfare activists who object to the practice of testing drugs and medical procedures on laboratory animals in advance of humans. Booklist contributor Anne O'Malley praised Abortion as a "brisk, well-researched, well-organized, and very well balanced presentation" of the highly emotional issue, while in Science Books and Films, reviewer William G. Wisecup commended Animal Experimentation for dealing with "a highly emotional and controversial" topic "carefully, and objectively." Reviewing the same work in Booklist, O'Malley noted that Day "offers a wealth of information both pro and con," including the purpose of experimentation, alternatives to such experimentation, and the medical advances that have been made possible by this practice.

First Amendment rights are investigated in Censorship, or Freedom of Expression?, while the outgrowth of such freedom is the subject of both Sensational TV: Trash or Journalism? and Advertising: Information or Manipulation? In Censorship, or Freedom of Expression? Day begins with a history of censorship extending back to ancient times, then focuses on U.S. court cases that have helped define modern free speech. Praising the book for presenting both sides of the issue, Voice of Youth Advocates contributor Vicky Yablonsky noted that Day "provides up-to-date examples that relate directly to young adult concerns in her basic introduction to a very complex and sensitive issue." Critical thinking skills are encouraged in both Sensational TV and Advertising, as readers are presented with the techniques used by both the media and advertisers to inform the public in order to sway opinion or provoke a desired reaction. Calling Day's approach "fresh and thought-provoking," Voice of Youth Advocates reviewer Debbie Earl praised the last chapter of Sensational TV for including "clear suggestions to help [teens] . . . become more critical [television] viewers." Similarly, in a review for School Library Journal, Jennifer Ralston maintained that Advertising would help "young people . . . look at advertising and how the media influenced their decisions in a whole new light."

In her "Passport to History" series for Runestone, Day lets modern-day history buffs take a trip into the past in books designed to present everyday life in a variety of cultures and historical epochs. In Your Travel Guide to Ancient Greece, readers learn about climate, currency, where to shop, where to stay, and what tourist sites to see in fifth-century-B.C. Greece, all in an up-close-and-personal approach that even includes quotes from Euripides. School Library Journal contributor Cynthia M. Sturgis remarked favorably on the author's inclusion of "a short who's who . . . and some simple activities [that] wrap up this clever, readable volume," while Booklist Susan Dove Lempke commended Day for her "delightfully informative tone as she tells young time travelers what they might expect on a trip to ancient Greece." Your Travel Guide to Ancient Egypt is highlighted by maps of the Nile and northern Egypt, photographs, and sidebars explaining everything from how the Pharaohs' paper was made to the way goods and services were priced. Similarly, in Your Travel Guide to Ancient Maya Civilization, Day provides "fascinating tidbits" of information on many aspects of Mayan culture during the period 600-800 A.D., according to School Library Journal reviewer Lana Miles.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Appraisal, spring-summer, 1993, Edward J. Zielinski, review of The Horseshoe Crab, pp. 109-110.

Booklist, November 1, 1994, Anne O'Malley, review of Animal Experimentation: Cruelty or Science?, p. 488; August, 1995, Anne O'Malley, review of Abortion: Debating the Issue, p. 1937; April 1, 1996, Ilene Cooper, review of Sensationalist TV: Trash or Journalism?, p. 1351; June 1, 1996, Anne O'Malley, review of Violence in Schools: Learning in Fear, p. 1688; July, 1999, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of Advertising: Information or Manipulation?, p. 1942; October 15, 2000, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Your Travel Guide to Ancient Greece, p. 458; February 15, 2001, Roger Leslie, review of The Death Penalty for Teens: A Pro/Con Issue, p. 1126.

Book Report, March-April, 1995, Pat Royal, review of Animal Experimentation, p. 57; January-February, 1996, Margaret Zinz Jantzen, review of Abortion, p. 53.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, June, 1996, review of Violence in Schools, pp. 329-330.

Choice, September, 1995.

Civil War Times, June, 2001, Brenda Wilt, "A Wartime Guide for Kids," p. 10.

Kirkus Reviews, July 15, 1994, review of Animal Experimentation, p. 981.

School Library Journal, March, 1993, Helen Rosenberg, review of The Horseshoe Crab, p. 206; April, 1995, Patricia Manning, review of Animal Experimentation, p. 160; December, 1995, Claudia Morrow, review of Abortion, p. 134; April, 1996, Joan Soulliere, review of Sensational TV, p. 161; July, 1996, Carol Fazioli, review of Violence in Schools, p. 101; December, 1999, Jennifer Ralston, review of Advertising, pp. 147-148; January, 2001, Cynthia M. Sturgis, review of Animal Experimentation, p. 142; January, 2001, and Marilyn Fairbanks, review of Censorship, or Freedom of Expression?, p. 143; February, 2001, Cynthia M. Sturgis, review of Your Travel Guide to Ancient Greece, pp. 130-131; April, 2001, Lana Miles, review of the
"Passport to History" series, pp. 157-158; April, 2001, Mary R. Hofmann, review of The Death Penalty for Teens, p. 157; May, 2001, Carol Duruseau, review of Your Travel Guide to Ancient Egypt, p. 162; January, 2002, Karey Wehner, review of Killer Superbugs: The Story of Drug-resistant Diseases, p. 151.

Science Books and Films, May, 1993, Beatrice L. Burch, review of The Horseshoe Crab, p. 109; March, 1995, William G. Wisecup, review of Animal Experimentation, p. 41.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 1995, Barbara J. Walker, review of Abortion, p. 244; June, 1996, Debbie Earl, review of Sensational TV, pp. 115-116; April, 2001, Vicky Yablonsky, review of Censorship, or Freedom of Expression?, pp. 62-63; June, 2001, Pam Carlson, review of The Death Penalty for Teens, p. 139.